Amani ya Juu - Nairobi, Kenya – 27 January 2010

They served lunch at Amani today. Women arrived in higher numbers than usual, because it was the end of the two-week pay period and time to close the books. Lunch provides a chance to share a meal with friends, especially since not every woman comes each day, choosing instead to stitch at home and save the bus fare.

We sat in the shade and ate our maharague and mchele (pinto beans and rice) off of big aluminum plates with fat spoons. Next to me, a cluster of women who had come with their babies alternated bites for themselves and their children. To the other side, one woman loudly acclaimed that the kitenge wrap her friend was wearing was “smart.” Everyone finished off her meal with a hot cup of chai.

Both before and after lunch, the hum of sewing machines in the stitching room was a bit louder than other days. This bright room on the top floor of the Pamoja House, the main building standing tall behind the Amani café and shop, contains rows of all types of sewing machines. Many were occupied today by women with stacks of products to submit for payment. I sat with Margaret for a while as she changed the trim on her coin purses. She had used the wrong fabric, so Quality Control had returned them to her. We chatted about her children, the tailoring work she did before Amani, and the joy of working hard.

Mom was put to work straight away Monday morning making sample pillows out of scraps. (Finding useful occupations for the loads of scraps that are taking over the Amani center is a common goal these days.) She finished her first one today and made progress on the second. Her eagerness to get to the stitching room and work on her project is evidence of how much she’s missed stitching in recent months. Plus, it affords her the opportunity to chat with old and new friends while she works alongside them.

We’ve both been able to step into the “other side” of our work in very helpful ways this week. Mom spent time in Export getting a better sense of what it entails for that office to ship boxes to the US. Experiencing the process herself gave her a deeper understanding of the system she’s relying on as she schedules volunteer boxes from month to month.

I’ve gotten to sit in on some helpful meetings and talk at length with the administration here in Nairobi. Saturday’s Kenya Board meeting gave me a profound appreciation for the care that the Board puts into guiding Amani. I appreciated the opportunity to listen to their discussion of where Amani Kenya is headed in the coming year and present a report on Amani US. Also, I was invited to attend the monthly Administration Meeting today, which brings together the department leaders to update and think through current situations. In a way, that meeting is the counterpart to the many meetings we have informally in DC.

Sitting with Amani’s Kenya Country Director for a few hours on Monday morning, a sense of refreshment washed over me: we are not alone. There is a community of women here in Kenya searching for the same balance of ministry and business, battling endless system breakdowns, and imagining peace among brokenness.

Some pressing communications projects have needed more time than we’d like to give them, and each day we find ever present that old truth of working for Amani: there’s always so much more to do than we can feasible undertake. So we continue trying to strike the balance between being diligent and savoring the moments. These days are precious. We marvel together at the growth we see in our sisters since we last saw them and wonder how they find us changed.

Debbie & Brittany at Amani Africa: Jet set!

In February 2006, I visited Amani ya Juu in Nairobi for the first time. It hardly felt like an introduction; Amani had already been an important part of my life through my friendship with Rachel. But that's a story for another time (perhaps one that's already passed). After two weeks at Amani Kenya, I begrudgingly returned to Washington, DC and my ever-supportive parents. Standing in the kitchen, jet-lagged and crotchety for being forced to return to my snowy, cold life in the States, I distinctly remember my mom's exact words: "Next time, I'm going with you."

And so she did. We spent two weeks at Amani Kenya in July 2008. And again, more of my mom's words are still clear as a bell. Sitting in a meeting on how-we're-going-to-make-this-US-volunteer-sale-thing-grow, she said, "I can do that. I can help coordinate the volunteers for Amani. I would like to do that."

And so she has. Thus started a new chapter for usm one of sharing our experiences with Amani by working together. It's not been without challenge, but we have truly enjoyed working alongside one another for the past 2 1/2 years.

Now we're embarking on yet another chapter, and kicking it off with this trip together. We're so thankful for the support in the form of prayer, donations, and encouragement we've received from many of you as we set out. I'm going to try to update regularly as we have time. In the meantime, please remember us in prayer over the next three weeks.

Here's what we're up to...

Jan 21 - 22: Travel to Nairobi, Kenya
Jan 23 - Feb 30: Working at Amani Kenya
Jan 31: Travel to Bujumbura, Burundi
Feb 1 - 3: Working at Amani Burundi (Amahoro ava Mw'Ijuru); travel to Kigali, Rwanda
Feb 4 - 9: Working at Amani Rwanda (Amahoro ava Hejuru); return to Nairobi
Feb 10 - 11: Wrapping up at Amani Nairobi
Feb 11 - 12: Travel home to Washington, DC

The next three week may try our patience, grace, and resilience, but we are so excited to spend time at the Amani centers and share about how Amani is growing in the US as well. It's always a good thing when the women of Amani get together, and so we look forward to what will come.

More (I hope!) soon...

Wrapping up 2009

Happy New Year! I'm excited to welcome 2010 along with the rest of the Amani staff. We've been on a much-needed break the past few weeks, and now that we're back, I'm catching up on a few things that fell through the cracks in the mayhem of the holidays.

Below is my end-of-year letter wrapping up 2009 and looking ahead to 2010. I hope to have some more updates soon.

December 2009

Greetings of peace! This letter comes to you from my desk at AmaniDC, currently surrounded by piles of products just arrived from Amani Kenya, along with tall stacks of orders ready to ship to customers. In the past few months our small staff has been flooded with volunteer sales, website orders, shop customers, and wholesale buyers — all symbolizing a growing market for Amani’s beautiful products. We are seeing now the fruits of the past year’s labors, and the importance of healthy, growing US operations now based in DC.

By your support of my work with Amani, you have had a hand in bringing these fruits about. I want to share with you an update from the past year and a glimpse of what’s ahead for 2010.

2009: “We start as fools and become wise through experience.” -Tanzanian proverb

A retail shop opened in January during a recession — it is a story unlikely to end in success. And yet, while AmaniDC’s success certainly cannot be measured in one year’s time, we can say with confidence that sales and outreach this year have far surpassed our expectations. A thriving DC location has made it possible for Amani to weather this difficult economic season.

The year involved a lot of “firsts” for our staff. We went from working on the floor with piles of paper and products to a welcoming boutique, office, and warehouse with systems on which we can rely. Below are some of our most notable business-related successes:

• Established inventory and financial systems for moving products and tracking US sales
• Designed and set up Amani’s first US retail shop
• Increased communication with customers, volunteers, and donors through mailings and e-newsletters
• Provided product feedback to the Africa centers efficiently, resulting in a refined product line
• Strengthened and expanded our partnership with volunteers selling products throughout the US (Product shipped to volunteers from the US Warehouse this fall doubled that of 2008!)
• Implemented an upgrade to our online shop enabling web sales to increase significantly.

AmaniDC has indeed become a fully functional part of the Amani family. Amani’s unique products (made even more marketable this year!) give us a natural way to extend peace to many new people. We see it in the faces of our eager customers and hear it in the voices of our enthusiastic volunteers—Amani’s message of peace is impacting lives.

We have been encouraged by our warm reception in a neighborhood struggling to attract business. One woman from the church from where we rent space told us, “Amani opening here was a glimmer of hope for this neighborhood. It encourages us that Mt. Pleasant is a place where people come and thrive.”

I’ve been able to represent Amani to the Mt. Pleasant Business Association this year. Through relationships with local organizations and business owners, it’s become clear that Amani’s mission has a unique niche in Mt. Pleasant. The struggles of small business owners to adapt to a changing, multicultural city are acutely felt here. I look forward to continuing to learn from and with these new friends in the coming year.

We have also this year continued our conversation with Restoration Ministries about partnering together toward a job skills training internship for the women and girls with whom they work. We have been able to encourage one another as we develop each of our ministries. We hope to begin an internship program with Restoration Ministries in 2010.

Thank you for your financial support this year. The donations from my supporters have provided approximately 30% of the salary costs for my full-time position this year. Your generosity has made the growth of Amani in the US in 2009 a reality. The network of friends investing in Amani in this particular way has been a tremendous encouragement to me. I thank God for you!

2010: “Reason is our soul’s left hand, Faith her right.” -John Donne

The coming year will certainly hold a new set a challenges. As you may have heard, I have agreed to step into the US Country Director position on an interim basis in mid-January when Rachel Kistner (who currently serves in this position) resigns in anticipation of the birth of her first child. The change is bittersweet for us all. We rejoice with Rachel and her husband Ben, but will miss her greatly at Amani. The interim nature of the position will allow Amani and me time to discern whether the role is a good fit for me. The Board and I will evaluate my performance and experience after six months, and then decide whether to make the position permanent.

What will happen to my current job, you ask? I will merge many of my current responsibilities with the Country Director position. We are also hiring part-time staff right now to help alleviate shop responsibilities that Rachel and I have shouldered in the past year. This is an immediate need. If you know of anyone in the DC area who would be interested, please let me know. This will be the first aspect of changes to our staff next year. Please join me in praying for the right people to join our AmaniDC team in 2010. Your continued financial support of my position in the coming year will enable this change and growth.

As you can see, the new year will get rolling with big changes at AmaniDC. I’m also excited to start it off with a long-awaited trip to the centers in Africa. Amani’s mission is grounded in relationships. It’s essential for us to stay connected to those who first shared this peace with us: the women at the centers in Kenya, Rwanda, and Burundi. Visits also help us work together as co-laborers to refine Amani’s global operations. I am planning to travel to all three of the Amani centers in Africa in late January/early February. You may know that my mom, Debbie, works part-time with Amani connecting volunteers in the US who sell products through our Kenya Export Office. Her involvement in Amani has been such a joy for us both. I am excited that we will be making this trip together as mother and daughter, co-workers, and friends.

This upcoming trip will allow us to rekindle relationships with friends old and new, as well as work to improve Amani’s US support of Africa operations. Time together affords opportunities to share about our lives and the extension of peace in the US. The women at Amani’s centers in Kenya, Rwanda, and Burundi work hard to share this peace with excellence through their products. Trips like these foster continuity and unity among the widespread Amani family.

We also have some specific ministry and business goals for our trip. Debbie will do some technical stitching training, as well as working with the Kenya Export Office to help her better perform her tasks in the US. I will work with Amani women on communications — facilitating exercises in personal storytelling and writing to create opportunities for the women themselves to share about Amani — and I will also represent the US staff as the Interim US Country Director and meet with leadership to work on specific ministry and production goals. We hope to visit some of the women in their homes and pray with them.

As we enter 2010, please join me in praying for God’s care and guidance for the Amani family and the DC location in particular, as well as our upcoming trip.

As you know, Amani uses donations for outreach and strategic growth. Because it values the connectedness of its staff, Amani is investing approximately 25% of our trip costs. My mom and I have decided to contribute 40% personally. We are fundraising together the remainder of our trip budget, which is about $2,600. If you are considering year-end donations for 2009, a gift to Amani for this trip beyond your current ongoing support will be an excellent investment in the growth and ministry of this unique organization.

To make a gift via check or credit card or to update your giving information, please fill out the enclosed giving card and send it to Amani Foundation, PO Box 28133, Chattanooga, TN 37424.

Again, I am deeply grateful for your friendship and support. I look forward to continuing to share with you how God’s peace is thriving at Amani—both here in DC and around the world. If you are interested, I would be happy to talk more with you about plans for the upcoming year. Now more than ever, I am passionate about Amani’s ministry and believe in its mission. I hope you are captivated by this work as well and the peace from God that it demonstrates.

Warm blessings to you and your family this Christmas season! May you find many reasons to celebrate and take heart as we give thanks for Christ’s coming and await his return.

E-mails, Coffee, and Prayers.

A woman in at the Kenya center feels inexplicable pain.

The ladies are thankful for recent rains.

Another woman reports that her neighbors were robbed last night, and she is feels scared and sad for them.

Still another gives thanks for a recent home visit from Amani women and their children.

The Burundi center has seen a drop in sales from slowing visitors. Rwanda gives thanks for a few big sales that cleaned them out.

Children of the Amani women are sitting for standardized examinations at school.

The Nairobi streets and buses are unsafe from crime and rough conditions. The women give thanks for their safety and pray for all who travel.

Several women at the Rwanda center are caring for children sick with malaria.

These are just a few of the prayer requests that have appeared in my inbox recently from Amani's Africa centers. Gladys from the Kenya office collects and circulates a simple daily e-mail that keeps us all connected. Some days, the list is short and full thanksgivings. Other days, like earlier this week, it seems a litany of woes too heavy for anyone to bear. Sometimes I marvel at the breadth of it. Generally, I'm thankful that these concerns are voiced with the hope of sharing the burden with others through prayer. The Amani women continue to remind me that our struggles are not meant to be faced alone.

We do this in our own way at AmaniDC. Our staff is small, but it's the same spirit playing out here of caring for those with whom we work . Our middle office has become a makeshift gathering place, much like the old stitching room at the Kenya center used to function before their chapel was built. We take time in the mornings before opening e-mail or packing up products to talk, drink our coffee (perhaps the American equivalent of chai?), and remember that we are friends sharing life together through our work. We tell stories about our families and homes. We laugh. We pray for one another and for the requests coming from Africa.

Sometimes the challenges we face here are very different from those facing our African sisters. More often, they're strikingly similar. Even in just the past few months, the Amani family has walked together through loss, new life, changing seasons, wont, instability and perplexity. Today I'm grateful for the everydayness of it. The little prayers and brief encouraging e-mails become the glue that holds us together across so many distances. On a usual day at the Amani centers, our connection may be imperceptible. But it's a source of strength for me and many on a daily basis.

Last week, a new volunteer was tending the shop when a woman came in with her newborn baby. The volunteer, a recent empty nester, was soon chatting with the younger woman who was herself adjusting to a new season of motherhood. I eavesdropped on their conversation and gave thanks that Amani is becoming a place where people who might not otherwise meet are connecting over common experiences. It would appear that the Amani culture--and the peace in which it is grounded--is naturally and ever-so-slowly making its way known at AmaniDC.

Please join me in praying for the needs of the Amani family in Africa and the US.

I love this photo of my mom & Elizabeth at Amani Kenya.
Theirs is a particular and lasting connection over motherhood and resiliency.

Sweet success.

For those of you thinking about Amani over the weekend, thank you! Both days' events were a great success with lots of sales and connections with visitors.

Saturday's sidewalk sale was a huge hit and our best Saturday as far as sales go. Sunday's Fiesta DC event brought tens of thousands of people to Mt. Pleasant St, many of whom stopped in to find out about Amani. Throughout the day, we heard, "I've been meaning to check out your new shop. I'm glad you're out here!"

I posted some photos on the AmaniDC blog. You can snag a peek here.

Just a word...or 175

We're heading into one of our first busy fall weekends, with a sidewalk sale on Saturday and Fiesta DC on Sunday. We've been had our hands full making sure that Amani products get to volunteers and webstore customers throughout the United States, so we appreciate opportunities to connect locally with these events.

As a little boost of affirmation, Zoe Sandvig, a local writer friend, visited us during the Grand Opening and wrote a profile on the AmaniDC center for World Magazine. It offers a glimpse of the friendships and experiences behind the new location. Check it out here. And I got to chat with a reporter from the Memphis Commercial Appeal who wrote this piece to promote a volunteer sale in their area this week. Opportunities to share about Amani and why I love it are so energizing.

With lots of product-related tasks coming in, our little team of staff and volunteers are pulling together and pitching in a lot these days. It's a refreshing change of pace to be able to work on a variety of things and so gratifying to watch products that represent our friends' livelihoods. It's an encouragement to them and makes me anticipate the day when I can see them again. Hopefully that will be in the new year. More on that next time!

Cooling Down and Gearing Up

Fall arrived rather abruptly to DC last week. On the first of September, the temperatures dropped and the humidity seeped off to torment some other poor city. We were ready for this--the District, as well as Amani.

It was nice to have a slower pace in August, with the grand opening past and the fall rush not yet upon us. We took the time to catch our breath and get ready for the events and sales we anticipate for the fall. A few weeks ago, a few friends and their little ones spent the morning with us modeling bags and kids items. The photos are now scattered throughout the online shop. And with the arrival of six big boxes last Friday from Nairobi, the fall rush officially got underway. (Just a tip: there are some really great new things online and in the shop right now. Plus, free shipping in September!)

The back-to-school season has also meant that some of our summer volunteers are returning to their work schedules. Fortunately, we've been getting some other nice folks to help us out. Between Idealist.org and the local universities, we've got lots of willingly, helpful hands. We find their presence with us not only practically helpful, but encouraging too. It draws in new people who connect with Amani in their own unique way--be it organizing and system-tweaking, learning about the craftsmanship of the products, or deepening their understanding of development and social enterprise.

Speaking of events, here's a list of some of the events we have coming up. Mark your calendars if you're in the area!

Saturday, September 26th - Mt. Pleasant Sidewalk Sale
A pre-Fiesta DC sidewalk sale with other vendors on the main street.

10:00 am to 4:00 pm @ AmaniDC

Sunday, September 27th - Fiesta DC
Fiesta DC is an annual event celebrating Latino cultures and heritage in the DC area that takes place on Mt. Pleasant Street! This is a big event with lots of food, people, and music. It should be a lot of fun.

11:00 am to 7:00 pm @ AmaniDC

Saturday, October 17th - Hearts & Hands Bazaar
This annual crafts bazaar has become a staple for Amani's fall schedule.

9:00 am to 3:00 pm @ Messiah United Methodist Church (6215 Rolling Road, Springfield, VA)

Friday & Saturday, November 6th & 7th: AmaniDC Holiday Open House
Our big sale event for the holiday season with a large sale section.

2:00 to 7:00 on Friday, 10:00 to 4:00 on Saturday @ AmaniDC

As we move into this busier season, there are certainly some items for prayer:

• Opportunities to connect through Amani with customers in the shop and at these events.
• Strong sales at volunteer sales across the US, online, in the shop, and at local events.
  
• Good communications with the rest of the Amani family in Africa, that we might encourage and strengthen one another.
• Energy & creativity for everyone working together at AmaniDC.
• Ongoing relationships with groups and individuals in the community, that Amani would be an agent of peace where there is discord.

Thank you for your prayers, visits, donations, and words of encouragement. I cannot express enough how important it is for me and for Amani.

Now, go celebrate fall and enjoy an apple.